Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07SANSALVADOR1485
2007-08-01 23:44:00
CONFIDENTIAL//NOFORN
Embassy San Salvador
Cable title:  

FALLOUT FROM SUCHITOTO ARRESTS CONTINUES

Tags:  PGOV PREL PHUM KDEM ES 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXYZ0014
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHSN #1485/01 2132344
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 012344Z AUG 07
FM AMEMBASSY SAN SALVADOR
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7200
C O N F I D E N T I A L SAN SALVADOR 001485 

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/01/2017
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM KDEM ES
SUBJECT: FALLOUT FROM SUCHITOTO ARRESTS CONTINUES


Classified By: Ambassador Charles L. Glazer, Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SAN SALVADOR 001485

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/01/2017
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM KDEM ES
SUBJECT: FALLOUT FROM SUCHITOTO ARRESTS CONTINUES


Classified By: Ambassador Charles L. Glazer, Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary: GOES handling of the arrest and prosecution
of fourteen individuals who participated in violent
demonstrations in Suchitoto on July 2 continues to
reverberate throughout the Salvadoran political landscape and
to attract attention from U.S.-based NGO's. The GOES
decision to prosecute the cases under a 2006 anti-terrorism
law has proven highly controversial, and has left the Saca
administration vulnerable to domestic and international
criticism. Ambassador has discussed our concerns to the
Acting Foreign Minister as well as to President Saca. End
summary.

--------------
Protesters Arrested in Suchitoto
--------------


2. (U) On July 2, President Saca traveled to Suchitoto -- a
colonial town about 30 miles outside of San Salvador which
serves as a popular weekend tourist destination -- to unveil
a new national policy for the decentralization of water
services. Several groups, including the Association of Rural
Communities for the Development of El Salvador (CRIPDES),the
Women's Mediation Association (Concertacion de Mujeres),and
the Union of Water Workers (SETA),positioned protesters
along President Saca's intended route. Though the gathering
was initially non-violent, several protesters, some of them
masked, blocked roads, set fires in the streets, and threw
stones at GOES vehicles, possibly to include President Saca's
motorcade. Other protesters allegedly fired handguns at a
National Civilian Police (PNC) helicopter. Members of the
PNC riot squad (UMO in Spanish),who were positioned along
President Saca's motorcade route and within the town of
Suchitoto itself, fired tear gas and rubber bullets at
protesters, and subsequently took numerous protesters into
custody.

--------------
The Action Moves to the Courtroom
--------------


3. (U) Fourteen protesters were arrested and charged with
various acts of disturbing the peace, conspiracy, and
discharging a firearm. The fiscal (the rough equivalent of
an Assistant U.S. Attorney) assigned to the case decided to

charge the defendants under El Salvador's 2006 anti-terrorist
law. This statute has rarely been used to date, and has
never previously been invoked in such a high profile case.
Under the tough provisions of the anti-terror law, the
defendants could face up to fifteen years in jail if
convicted.


4. (U) In a preliminary hearing on July 7, a Salvadoran judge
found sufficient grounds to bind over thirteen of the
defendants for trial, and to maintain pretrial detention for
up to three months. The related firearms charges, however,
were dropped. Initial charges of interfering with a police
operation filed against the fourteenth defendant were
dropped, and he was subsequently released.


5. (U) On July 18, an Appellate Judge in San Salvador's
Organized Crime court upheld provisional charges against all
the defendants, but opted to release four of the defendants
on bail. The remaining defendants were released on bail
following a July 26 hearing. The presiding judge has not
yet set a date for trial, but gives every appearance of being
prepared to move forward with the case.


6. (U) Under Salvadoran law, the Attorney General's Office
(Fiscalia) has three months from the date of the preliminary
hearing to complete evidence collection and prepare for
trial. By the end of this period (in this case, October 7),
the Fiscalia has four options: they can ask for an additional
three months of investigation; they can proceed to trial;
they can ask that the Judge rule that the Organized Crime
Court does not have jurisdiction in this case and move it to
a regular criminal court (an option which would necessitate
prosecution under a statute other than the 2006 anti-terror
law); or they can drop the case entirely.

-------------- --------------
U.S. NGO's Weigh In, and the FMLN Joins the Chorus
-------------- --------------


7. (SBU) In the immediate aftermath of the Suchitoto arrests,
numerous U.S. and international NGO's registered their
concern over the GOES decision to prosecute the cases under
the 2006 terrorism statute. In meetings with embassy
poloffs, several NGO representatives complained that GOES
actions were an unwarranted curtailment of freedom of
assembly, and tried to fit the Suchitoto events into a larger
pattern of backsliding on human rights alleged to be taking
place under President Saca.


8. (U) In a development indicative of the domestic political
divisiveness this case has engendered, Oscar Luna, the

newly-appointed Ombudsman for Human Rights (PDDH in Spanish),
publicly stated that the violent demonstrators were not
terrorists, and called upon the GOES to review the terrorism
law. Representatives of the FMLN quickly joined the chorus
calling on the government to revisit the statute.

--------------
Ambassador Expresses Concern
--------------


9. (C) Ambassador Glazer expressed concern about GOES use of
the anti-terrorism statute during discussions with Acting
Foreign Minister Calix on July 12 and with Salvadoran
President Antonio Saca on July 20. The Ambassador urged Saca
and Calix to review Salvadoran legislation with a view toward
separating provisions dealing with public disturbances from
the law on "terrorism."

--------------
Comment
--------------


10. (C) Informal conversations with GOES officials, as well
as speculation in the local press, indicates that the Saca
administration may well be looking for an opportunity to back
down from a prosecution based on the anti-terror statute.
From a purely legal perspective, the Suchitoto violence
almost certainly falls within the scope of activities
prohibited by the 2006 anti-terrorism statute. At the same
time, a decision to continue to charge the defendants under
the terrorism statute would be damaging to the GOES from a
public relations perspective. Legitimate concern that
political protesters will return to the old school violent
methods common during the Salvadoran civil war, and further
undermine public confidence in the GOES ability to maintain
public order, certainly played a part in the legal
deliberations. The FMLN has demonstrated a strong propensity
to seek political mileage out of the Suchitoto incident, and
no doubt welcomes the opportunity to direct public attention
away from the pending prosecution of former FMLN member Mario
Belloso, who is charged with the premeditated assassination
of two PNC officers during a July 2006 demonstration. The
FMLN has also made shrewd tactical use of U.S.-based NGO's.
Regardless of the merits of the cases according to current
Salvadoran law, going forward under the anti-terror statute
will leave the GOES vulnerable to charges of
politically-motivated prosecution. The GOES will surely be
charged with backpedaling on freedom of expression and human
rights. End Comment.
Glazer